Android应用请求Firebase自定义身份验证

Question

I'm new to Firebase and Android programming, I have some questions regarding Firebase custom authentication.

I build an android application of social report (for broken public infrastructure) which needed simplest solution for automatic authentication. Since it is a social report app in which users shouldn't be bothered in registration process by inputing any kind of data. So I decided to use Android uuid as an identifier of user instead of email/user name/etc. I loosely implement user authentication and registration. It only need Android device uuid to register/authenticate (don't even need a password). Although, I think I've secured user data in firebase security rules well enough.

I've successfully created a custom automatic authentication/registration server with Go language which mints and store the data from the Firebase itself. These are my current workflow:

1. The Android client automatically sends a request to my auth server. The request data contains Android uuid and several other data. I'm going to put it in onCreate activity. So every time user opens the application up, it will request for a token.
2. My auth server checks whether that particular uuid is stored in my Firebase. If it is, then generate a JWT. If not, my server will automatically create a new user data entry in my Firebase and send back a new JWT.
3. Someway save the JWT within the client app, and use that to do data transaction with firebase.

I managed to learn the Firebase library for Android, it is great and very simple. I found a lot of Android http request libraries (two of them are retrofit and volley). Yet, I still uncertain of the best way to send the auth request from the Android client.

What is the preferred/simplest way to send custom auth request in the client app, based on the requirements and workflow I've specified above? Do I need to use http request library to simplify the code? sample/snippet of code would be very helpful. What is the best way to store and use the JWT in the client app? Is my current workflow good enough? Evaluations are much appreciated.

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As a side note, this is my school final project, not a production application. So I don't mind elaborate cases like whether user is having more than one phone, or buying second phone which ought to have same uuid with the previous owner, etc. Also, please spare my weird grammar/non-idiomatic language as I'm not a native english speaker.

Answer 1

The easiest way with Android is to use signInWithCustomToken() on a Firebase auth object (FirebaseAuth).

Here is the reference in the docs, including sample implementation code: https://firebase.google.com/docs/auth/android/custom-auth

Good luck with the project.